Mohammed bin Faisal Al Saud

Early life and education

Mohammed bin Faisal was born in Taif in 1937. He was the eldest child of the King Faisal and Iffat Al Thunayan. His full siblings were Saud bin Faisal, Turki bin Faisal, Luluwah bint Faisal, Sara bint Faisal and Haifa bint Faisal. Mohammed also had half-siblings from his fathers other marriages, including Abdullah and Khalid.

Mohammed bin Faisal was the first of his siblings to study abroad. He attended both Lawrenceville School and Hun School. He then attended Swarthmore College. He earned his bachelor of science degree in business administration at Menlo College in California.

Early career

Mohammed bin Faisal began his career at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). In 1964, he was transferred to the ministry of water and agriculture. Next he was appointed director of saline water conversion department at the ministry in 1970. He contributed to the formation of the water desalination program. He was later named deputy minister of water and agriculture responsible for saline water affairs in 1974. He was also named as the governor of the then newly founded saline water conversion corporation in November 1974. He resigned from office in July 1977.

Business activities

Mohammed bin Faisal began to deal with business after his resignation. During this period he financially supported a study about the feasibility of bringing Antarctic icebergs to Mecca. He established a firm for this objective, Iceberg Transport International. On 17 October 1977, he presented his proposal at a conference in London. His plan was the most promising scheme discussed at the conference. However, the findings of the study indicated that it was not feasible, since no iceberg could survive if it passes the equator.

His most significant investments were in the fields of banking and finance, making him one of the pioneers in Islamic banking. Being one of the Saudi nationals, who invested in Egypt, he was the founder of the Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt that was established in Cairo in 1977. The bank was officially launched in 1979. The Sudan branch of the bank was also opened in 1977. He founded Dar Al Maal Al Islami Trust (the DMI group) in 1981. It was established in Geneva that is the international Islamic finance organisation and a parent institution for 55 Islamic banks. The DMI group is a Bahamas-incorporated holding company with a portfolio of Islamic banks in Bahrain, Niger, Egypt and Pakistan. Then he founded Faisal Private Bank in 1990 that is the pioneer banking institution in Islamic finance industry. Prince Mohammed was the chairman of its board of directors and of the Islamic Finance Group. Faisal Private Bank has several branches in different countries, including Switzerland. Its Switzerland branch was granted full banking license by the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (FINMA) in August 2006. Prince Mohammed was also the former president of Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank, which was founded in 1975.

In addition to banking sector, Prince Mohammed had other business enterprises. He was a shareholder of Saudi and Gulf Enterprise Ltd. based in Jeddah.

Other positions

Mohammed bin Faisal was the chairman of the board of trustees of the King Faisal Foundation. He was also a member of Effat University's board of founders and of trustees.

Controversy

Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the families of the victims launched a lawsuit against Prince Mohammed along with two other members of the House Saud, namely late Prince Sultan and Prince Turki, in addition to other people whom they accused of financing Al Qaeda. In 2009, further evidence was gathered by the families. A Washington lawyer, Michael Kellogg, represented Prince Muhammed in the lawsuit.

Personal life

Mohammed bin Faisal was married to Muna bint Abdul Rahman bin Azzam Pasha, daughter of Azzam Pasha. He had three children: Amr, Maha and Reema. His son Prince Amr is also a businessman dealing with finance.

Mohammed bin Faisal was among the 500 influential Muslims list developed by Georgetown University's center for Muslim-Christian understanding in 2009.

On 14 January 2017 he died, and it was announced that the funeral prayer would be performed at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

Ancestry